Hardwood vs. Carpet

[MyLittleWonders]

We are slowly planning the renovation of my dad's home. Eventually we will be (more than likely) moving there. But, it needs some work. It is the house where I grew up; he hadn't changed anything in the past 20 years. After I get all the clutter (read: he collected a *lot* of stuff) and have an estate sale, then we can start working on it. One big thing is what to do with the floors. The house has the original hardwood floors under the carpetting (which regardless, is getting ripped out). We know we want to put travertine or similar in the entry, kitchen, and two bathrooms. Plus, the den was an addition and will be carpetted. But, the 3 bedrooms and the living room all have hardwood (and 1 bedroom was restored 20+ years ago when my mom and I were living there). So ... do we restore the hardwood or put down new carpet.

Here's how I see it:

Hardwood: clean, natural, doesn't harbor allergens; cold, louder, can get easily scratched with 3 kids and a dog.

Carpet: soft, cushiony, absorbs sound, doesn't scratch up; harbors allergens, is synthetic, will offgas for a while

I know it should be a no brainer in terms of going hardwood. But, even with the big benefits, it's hard to get past the cold factor, the noise factor, and the scratching factor. I'm also not 100% sure of the condition of the floors, though considering how good the one bedroom was when we ripped that carpet up, and knowing that my dad didn't eat/drink outside of the kitchen/dining room or den, the wood is probably in pretty good shape and should be relatively easy to restore. So, what would you do?

[redhen]

I say the hardwoods are a no-brainer, but you already know that. :P

[~Megan~]

I loved carpets before kids and had no idea why anyone would want hardwoods (carpets are so comfy!) but now that I have kids (both were huge vomitors as babies) I really want something I can mop. I hate mopping too but its better than carpet stains!

[sabrinat]

As someone who has just had all the downstairs carpet replaced w/hardwoods you can guess my answer. I have 4 kids and 2 have asthma...the carpet was a source of constant annoyance to me. It was filthy and unsightly. I love our hardwoods and wished we'd done it sooner.

[momto l&a]

Hardwood

One can always put area rugs down in ares where kids want to be on the floor.

[mich]

Refinish the hardwoods with a low VOC sealer. By far the best option!!

Scratches add character, socks or slippers keep your feet warm, and being able to wipe up spills or messes in a second is priceless!

Not only will carpet off gas "for a while" as you say, but it and the padding underneath will break down over time and will release into the environment the whole time they are in your home. Then when their life span is over will need to be disposed of in a dump.

Good luck with the remodel, it can be hard, so many decisions! We are remodeling now and it's overwhelming!

[Naturalyst]

Not even a close call - hardwood or tile ... anything but carpet. I hate the small bit of carpet we still have because I know I can never get it as clean as a solid surface. Dirt, spills, bugs ... yuck! I'm forever with the rug cleaner out.

[***Heather***]

I hate having carpet. Go for hardwood floors with area rugs.

[notneb]

Definitely hardwoods. The beauty of hardwood floors is that, even if they're in bad shape, you should be able to sand them down and refinish them without too much of a problem.

[Mary-Beth]

Hardwoods off gas too.
The stains on them can be very toxic.
Not saying I wouldn't do that.

There are natural rugs....wool for example and there are others. With natural liners underneath.

There is also cork flooring and bamboo flooring to consider.

[Bekka]

See, I'm a latecomer to the hardwoods camp. Our house has multiple levels, and we have hardwoods in most of the "living level" (LR, kitchen, etc.) with a carpeted family room. Our whole upstairs and the finished part of our basement is all carpeted. We love having some carpeted, but no asthma in our family. DH really prefers carpeted, but I'm really loving the ease of cleaning up in the "main areas" where food is, etc. And I have to clean pee and spit up out of our upstairs carpet (time for a cleaning).

[jocelyndale]

Restore the hardwood. You can put down carpet runners in high traffic areas to protect from excessive wear.

[sphinxie]

I voted for hardwood, and you can put lots of area rugs everywhere.

[RubyWild]

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders

Hardwood: clean, natural, doesn't harbor allergens; cold, louder, can get easily scratched with 3 kids and a dog.

I voted to restore it, but I wouldn't call it natural with the lacquers they use, pretty heavy duty chemicals sometimes.

[gingerstar]

My parents restored the HW floors in the house I grew up in, which was built in the 20's. I love HW, having lived with both, so obviously I voted HW! And if it is older, original HW, it should be refinishable more than once, so even if your dog destroys it (not likely) it can be fixed. FWIW, we had dogs, and I think the floor held up fine.
I would not call it "cold" underfoot - not like vinyl or ceramic, but I guess not "warm" like carpet. And we used to put down rugs in winter, and put them away for summer. And you can always do rugs where kids play, like pp note.
For the other rooms (like the den) keep cork in mind - it is softer/warmer than HW, easy care, absorbs sound, and quite the "green" option.

[delphiniumpansy]

I vote for wool carpet. won't off gas and is quiet and comfy.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Hardwood. I recently saw one of those home shows that said the right combination of hardwood (especially original) and tile can raise your home value by 20%. Plus, if you wnat a carpet, buy a throw rug. Then you're not committed!

[SugarAndSun]

I would think that three kids would equal very dirty carpet! The wood may get scratched, but will not need replacing in two weeks!

[touka]

I also voted for hardwoods, but I'm partial having restored more than my fair share.

However, we have very large natural fiber (wool, jute, sisal) rugs on all of our hardwood (which, in our current home, is original parquet) most of which we bought for cheap from a local Crate and Barrel outlet. All of the rugs have a small layer of padding and no-slip underlayment (both of which are very cheap) and are very good at dampening noise.

[tayndrewsmama]

Our single biggest regret in building our house was that we did not do more to figure out a way to be able to afford hardwood flooring. I cannot wait until we are able to replace everything with it.